Removable armrest assembly for invalid wheel chairs



April 1968 H. E. KERNES 3,376,065

REMOVABLE ARMREST ASSEMBLY FOR INVALID WHEELCHAIRS Filed Oct. 31, 1966 20; INVENTOR.

' Q QARMONE.RNEIS $2M *QLM AT'FOQNELE United States Patent 3,376,065 REMOVABLE ARMREST ASSEMBLY FOR INVALID WHEELCHAIRS Harmon E. Kernes, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to Howmet Corporation, Archbold', Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 31, 1966, Ser. No. 590,630 4 Claims. (Cl. 297-414) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A removable armrest assembly for an invalid wheelchair employing a single socket attachment for easy removal and replacement of the armrest assembly.

One of the desirable features of invalid wheelchairs is the ability to completely remove the armrest assemblies so that the invalid may be moved from the chair with the greatest of ease. It is clearly apparent that by completely removing the armrest assemblies the invalid may be easily transported laterally to a bed, stationary chair, or the like without the necessity of negotiating a transverse obstruction.

A typical wheelchair provided with a removable armrest assembly is illustrated in United States Patent 3,244,453 entitled Support for Removable Wheel Chair Arms issued Apr. 5, 1966. In such construction, two socket members are aflixed in spaced relation on an associated side frame of the wheelchair. The armrest frame is generally formed of a tubular metal stock and is in the shape of an inverted U. The downwardly extending free ends of the armrest frame are received within respective ones of the spaced sockets. In this manner the armrest assembly may be satisfactorily positioned with respect to the side frame. However, it will be appreciated that such structure, although basically rather simple, requires considerable care during the manufacturing operations to make certain that the sockets are spaced a correct distance apart to adequately and properly receive the downwardly extending arms of the armrest frame.

It is an object of the invention to produce a wheelchair assembly having a removable armrest assembly which may be more readily and economically manufactured than the conventional types.

It is a further object of the invention to produce an invalid wheelchair having removable armrest assemblies which are interchangeable.

The above and other objects of the invention may be typically achieved by a removable armrest assembly for an invalid wheelchair which is comprised of a socket secured to the frame of the wheelchair; a generally horizontally extending armrest; a vertically extending column having the upper end thereof fixedly secured to the armrest and the lower end thereof detachably telescopingly fitted in the socket; and stop means limiting the relative axial movement between the column and the socket.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent from reading the following detailed description of an embodiment of the invention when considered in the light of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of wheelchair having a removable armrest assembly in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary elevational view of the apparatus illustrated in FIGURE 1;

'FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is an elevational view of an armrest assembly illustrating the desk type arm arrangement; and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary exploded view of a modified form of the invention.

Referring to the accompanying drawings wherein similar reference numerals designate similar parts throughout the description, there is illustrated an invalid wheelchair consisting primarily of two laterally spaced side frame elements A, only a single one being shown herein, preferably formed of a metal tubing. Each of the side frames A includes a front vertically disposed rail or tube 10 on the lower end of which is mounted a front caster wheel 12. At the rear of each of the side frames A is a vertically disposed pusher rail or tube 14 on which a large or drive wheel 16 may be mounted. If desired, the positions of the drive wheels and the caster wheels may be reversed, whereby the drive wheels may be mounted on the front tubes 10 and the caster wheels mounted at the bottom of the rear tubes 14. A frame tie 'bar or tube 18 is provided to extend between and has its ends suitably aflixed to the front tube 10 and the rear tube 14, respectively.

The upper portions of the rear vertically disposed pusher tube 14 are typically connected together by a flexible back rest, not shown.

A socket member 20 is welded or otherwise suitably secured to the frame tie bar 18 and is adapted to extend downwardly therefrom. It will be obvious that the socket member 20 could be welded or brazed into the frame tie bar 18 to be insubstantially a common plane therewith. The socket 20 is adapted to receive the vertically extending column member 22 of an armrest assembly 24 which has opposite ends thereof extending downwardly. The free ends of the armrest assembly 24 are provided with inserts 26 and 28, respectively. The uppermost portion of the front tube 10 is provided with an insert 30 which is adapted to cooperate with the insert of the armrest assembly 24 positioned within the frontmost downwardly extending end of the armrest. In the arrangement illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2, the insert 26 of the armrest assembly 24 abuts against and is supported by the insert 30 of the front tube 10 of the side frame A. It has been found that satisfactory results may be achieved by forming the inserts 26, 28, and 30 from a plastic material such as, for example, nylon.

As illustrated in FIGURE 3, the cross-sectional configuration of the socket 20 and the column 22 is rectangular to thereby militate against any relative rotational movement of the armrest assembly 24 with respect to the socket 20 and the associated side frame when the armrest assembly is in the assembled form.

In the event it is desired to remove the armrest assembly 24 from the wheelchair to eliminate any side obstruction, the armrest assembly 24 is grasped and raised to disengage the column 22 from the socket 20. To replace the armrest assembly 24, the column 22 is lowered into the socket 20 until downward movement thereof is limited and stopped by contact between the insert 26 of the armrest assembly and the insert 30 of the front tube 10.

It will be appreciated that since the column 22 is located substantially midway between the ends of the armrest assembly 24, the armrest assembly may be properly installed on a wheel chair being turned with respect to the position illustrated in FIGURE 1 wherein the insert 28 is positioned at the front and in contact with the insert 30 of the front tube 10. This arrangement provides considerable flexibility to the operator of the wheelchair and does not require the stringent manufacturing tolerances which would be required by a double socket insertion type apparatus.

FIGURE 4 illustrates a removable armrest assembly 24' which is a desk type structure which will enable the associated wheelchair to be moved close to a desk or table wherein the front step down portion 24 would be positioned beneath the front edge of a desk or table. In such position, the insert 26' would cooperate with a similar insert on the front tube of an associated wheelchair and the column 22 would be adapted to be received within a socket assembly of such wheelchair. Further with respect to the structure illustrated in FIGURE 4, the armrest assembly 24 could be installed on the associated wheelchair with the step down portion 24 at the rear, causing the armrest supporting portion to be positioned at the front of the wheelchair wherein the insert 28' would be in contact with an insert in the front tube of the associated wheelchair.

FIGURE illustrates a modified form of the column and socket arrangement of the invention illustrated and described hereinbefore In order to militate against any relative rotational movement between the socket and the column of the associated removable armrest assembly, there is provided a socket 20 which is to be attached to the side frame of a wheelchair, and includes a pair of diametrically opposed longitudinally extending slots 34 and 36 formed in the side wall of the tubular material of the socket. The column 22" of the associated armrest assembly, not shown, is provided with a pair of diametrically arranged radially extending guide pegs 3'8 and 40 which are adapted to be received in the slots 34 and 36, respectively, when the armrest assembly is lowered to a position where the column 22" is telescopingly fitted within the socket 20'.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes I have explained the principle and mode of operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

What I claim is:

1. A wheelchair having a pair of spaced apart side frame members, each of said side frame members including a vertically disposed front tube, a rear-wardly spaced vertically extending pusher tube, and a horizontally disposed frame tie tube extending between said front tube and pusher tube, the improvement comprising:

a socket secured to the frame tie tube of said frame member;

a removable armrest assembly including a generally horizontally extending armrest and at least one downwardly extending end portion terminating in a stop;

a vertically extending column having the upper end thereof fixedly secured to said armrest assembly in spaced relation to said downwardly extending end thereof, the lower end of said column detachably telescopingly fitted into said socket; and

stop means affixed to said side frame for abutment with the stop of the downwardly extending end portion of said armrest for limiting the relative axial movement between said column and said socket.

2. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein said armrest assembly includes a pair of opposed downwardly extending end portions terminating in respective stops, and the upper end of said vertically extending column is afiixed to said armrest assembly at a point substantially midway between said end portions.

3. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein the crosssectional configuration of the outer peripheral wall of said column and the inside peripheral wall of said socket is polygonal.

4. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein said socket includes a pair of diametrically opposed slots extending parallel to the longitudinal axis thereof; and said column includes a pair of radially extending guide pegs to fit within said slots, respectively.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,733,754- 2/1956 Leslie et al 2976 3,230,010 1/1966 'Mommsen 297429 3,244,453 4/1966 Fox 297416 3,292,972 12/1966 Krueger et a1. 297-417 X CASMIR -A. NUNBERG, Primary Examiner. 

